MQ-25 Stingray – Warbird Wednesday Episode #162
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we will be discussing the MQ-25 Stingray drone. This drone has been in development since 2006 and was originally designed to be a lethal strike aircraft. In 2016, the Navy decided to retool the drone as an aerial refueling platform to extend the range of the Super Hornet. Built by […]
KC-10 Extender – Warbird Wednesday Episode #161
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we will discuss the KC-10 Extender. This aircraft is a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and is primarily used for refueling. The US Air Force plans to retire the entire fleet of KC10s, and they will be replaced by the Pegasus. The KC10 was selected to fill a gap […]
KC-135 Stratotanker – Warbird Wednesday Episode #159
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we will continue with refueling aircraft like this KC-135 Stratotanker, a purpose-built refueler that first flew in 1956 and was introduced in 1957. The aircraft had a cruise speed of 529 miles per hour and was primarily used as a refueler for the US Air Force, the French Air Force, […]
KB-29 Superfortress – Warbird Wednesday #157
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we will begin our journey looking at air refueling aircraft starting with the KB-29 Superfortress. The need for aerial refueling aircraft was driven at the time by the U.S. Air Force along with the United States Navy who were racing to carry nuclear weapons to defend against the Soviet […]
An-225 Mriya – Warbird Wednesday Episode #156
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at the last of the heavy-lift aircraft in our series, the An-225 Mriya. It first flew in 1988 and was a product of the Cold War. Originally designed for the Soviet space program, this plane was a testament to aircraft designers not being afraid to try […]
C-17 Globemaster III – Warbird Wednesday Episode #155
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at a more modern cargo plane, the C-17 Globemaster III. This aircraft carries the legacy name of the Globemaster name from the C-74 and C-124. Originally this aircraft was a proof of concept design and was meant to be a STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft […]
C-5 Galaxy – Warbird Wednesday Episode #154
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at the BIG BOY of the airlift world, the C-5 Galaxy built by Lockheed. This aircraft is incredible because it can carry nearly everything in the American inventory. From multiple Apache helicopters to multiple Bradly fighting vehicles, this aircraft can do almost anything when it comes to […]
C-123 Provider – Warbird Wednesday Episode #152
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at another short-field bird, the C-123 Provider. The C-123 is a very unique airplane with an interesting lineage. It started production in 1949, was not introduced until 1956, and was finally retired in 1995. There were a total of 307 Providers built. Surprisingly this airframe started out […]
DHC-4 Caribou – Warbird Wednesday Episode #151
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we looking at another big cargo transport aircraft, the DHC-4 Caribou. The Caribou was known as the CV-2 and the C-7 in Army service. It had its first flight in 1958. The plane was pivotal in moving cargo in Vietnam for the U.S. Army. These aircraft were known for their […]
2023 Gala Honoree – Sarah Abbott
CDR Sarah E. Abbott Commander Sarah “Killface” Abbott is a 2003 graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering (Astronautics). Following commissioning, she attended Stanford University where she worked as a Research Assistant in the GPS Laboratory and earned a M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2005. CDR Abbott was […]
2023 Gala Honoree – Tammie Jo Shults
Known for being one of the first female fighter pilots to serve in the United States Navy, following active duty she became a pilot for Southwest Airlines. She retired from Southwest Airlines in 2020. Tammie started her career as a naval aviator as a flight instructor in T-2 Buckeye. She then trained and […]
Antonov An-2 Colt – Warbird Wednesday Episode #149
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at the Antonov An-2 Colt, another cargo plane. The An-2 Colt is a bi-plane with room for 12 paratroopers or light cargo. The aircraft was originally built by the Soviets in 1947 and 18,000 of these planes were built up until 2001. Still being produced by China, […]
C-133 Cargomaster – Warbird Wednesday Episode #148
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are going down the big plane lane again with another cargo plane, the C-133 Cargo Master. Built by Douglas, this plane was a purpose-built aircraft to be used for heavy lifting. A fun fact about this plane is that it had no prototype! It went from design straight to […]
C-124 Globemaster II – Warbird Wednesday Episode #147
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at another cargo aircraft, the C-124 Globemaster II. Commonly known as “Old Shakey”, this plane’s first flight was in 1949 and it flew for more than two decades before being retired in 1974. Built by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA, it could carry 200 fully armed […]
Arado AR 232 Millipede – Warbird Wednesday Episode #141
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are talking about a rare military transport cargo plane. A 1940 German Arado AR 232 Millipede. Built in very small numbers, this plane was assumed to be the reference for the designers who built 1950s cargo transport planes like the Fairchild Packet C-82 and the Fairchild C-119.
The Quest For Excellence: USNTPS C-12 Huron and F/A-18F Super Hornet (Part VI)
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are back in another hangar with CMDR, Jeremy DeBons, looking at the most immaculate C-12C Huron, also known as the King Air. This King Air is one of three on loan as part of a partnership from the Army with Patuxent River. The 3 F/A-18F Super Hornets featured are F Models and probably the oldest Super Hornets in the Navy. […]
Opening of Archival Displays to Accompany Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I Airplane
On Monday, December 5, 2022, the Palm Springs Air Museum, celebrated Walt Disney’s birthday with a VIP party and the opening of a new exhibit to accompany Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I airplane. Rarely exhibited items from the interior of the aircraft—also known affectionately as “The Mouse”—are now on display for visitors to the Palm […]
The Quest For Excellence: ISNTPS Rotary-Wing Aviation Fleet (pt 5) – Warbird Wednesday Episode #143
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are back in the hangar with “Hannibal” looking at the USNTPS’ Rotary-Wing Aviation Fleet. As these pilots are here to train, they are given all the necessary tools to carry out successful missions and operations, which comes with high expectations and responsibilities.
Jack Daniels Holsclaw
In his senior year of college, Jack Holsclaw enrolled in the government sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program and earned his pilot’s license. On October 5, 1942, he enlisted in the army as a private. He entered pilot training at Tuskegee Army Airfield as a member of class 43-G-SE. After completing his training, he received his […]
Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I Airplane Returns to Palm Springs Straight from D23 Expo 2022
Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I Airplane Returns to Palm Springs Straight from D23 Expo 2022 The historic plane will be celebrated October 15th, 2022 as it joins the Palm Springs Air Museum’s aircraft on display Palm Springs, Calif. – September 8, 2022 – Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I plane will journey from D23 Expo 2022 […]
Elvis and the Learjet – Part Three
Five years quickly passed by since the wedding of Elvis and Priscilla Presley in Vegas. Lisa Marie was born on February 1, 1968. Now it is the end of April 1973 and all is not bliss. Clay Lacy answers the phone, it’s Elvis requesting Clay to fly the Presley’s from Palm Springs to Santa […]
Elvis and the Learjet – Part Two
In the early morning of May 1, 1967, Elvis and Priscilla were issued a marriage license at the Las Vegas Courthouse. Just before 10:00 AM, the couple was officially married at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino with just 14 guests in attendance. The entire ceremony took a mere 18 minutes. This was followed by the […]
Elvis and the Learjet – Part One
Elvis and the Learjet – As told to Stan Stokes by Clay Lacy Part One On May 1, 1967, Elvis Presley and Pricilla Beaulieu were married in Las Vegas at the Aladdin Hotel. They had started the trip just after midnight at Elvis’s Palm Springs home. In an effort to evade the press […]
Robert Diez
Robert Deiz was born on June 17, 1919, in Portland, Oregon. Prior to World War II, in the late 1930s, Diez enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program at Swan Island in Portland, Oregon, receiving his pilot’s license. After graduation from the University of Oregon, Deiz joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. On […]
Benjamin O. Davis – Part 1
In the summer of 1926, at the age of 13, Benjamin Davis went for a flight with a barnstorming pilot at Bolling Field in Washington, D.C. This proved to be a life-changing experience. Now he was determined to become a pilot himself. In 1929, amid the Great Depression, Davis graduated from Central High School in […]
A-6 Intruder – Warbird Wednesday Episode 58
Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at the A-6 Intruder, an American all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace operated by the U.S. Navy between 1963-1997. The A-6 is a subsonic airplane but could also carry a lot of payloads, and “fun fact”, its range and bomb load […]